The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-06-14
RUSSIAN TEA-GAROENS.
The Semi-Oriental Customs of the Citizens
of the Chicago OF Russia

The Semi Oriental Customs OF the CltiZens
Of the Chicago OF Russia"
The Oriental domes and mosque-like
pinnacles of Odessa suggest COnstan-
tinople or Bagdad, and the filthy beg
CARS who lounge within the court
yards of the sacred edifices make the
illusion disgustingly real. 1t is in this
great wheat market city, called 1.-The
Chicago of Russia" that the stranger
gets his first glimpse of Eastern life.
The stately public buildings, the bazar-
like shop windows, the abject appear
ance of the beggars, the ferOcity OF
the feas, and the infinite number of
dogs are more real than the Arabian
Nights to an imaginative mind. The
summer nights are cool, but during
the day the sun floods the earth with
its scorching rays. The evenings are
usually spent in the tea-gardenS, which
are feature of all Russian towns.
They are like the beer-gardens of Ger
many, only tea is drunk instead of
beer. 1t is called "chaT' pronounced
"chi') and served in Bohemian cut
glass "tumblers, with Jumps of loaf
sugar and slices of lemon. Chat is the
universal drink, and the samOvar In
which it is made is n symbol of Rus
sian hospitality. This curious teapot
is brass or copper vessel, shaped not
unlike an urn. The ordinary house
hold samOvar is from one to two feet
high, and ten inches in diameter, and
polished in the highest style of art.
1t is so ingeniouSly constructed
that, with hot charcoal fire
burning in its little furnace, it may
stand on a table for hours without
scorching the cloth. Some of the very
expensive samovars are as large as "A
barrel and as high as a mans head. but
all are made on the same principle;
that is, n straight pipe or flue runs per-
pendicularly through the center of the
vessel, which is filled with water. The
fiue projects at the top of the samOvar
like little round chimney. When the
charcoal is well kindled. and the water
boils. a few spOonfuls of black tea are
put In a small china teapot, which is
filled with hot water drawn from the
faucet of the samover. Then the tea
pot is set over the chimney, in which q
series of holes just below its mouth
prevents stOppage of the draught.
When the tea is thoroughly "steeped"
and the liquid very dark, little is
poured into the guests glass, which is
hnY AAf 81
samovar. There is saying in Russia
that hospitality never ceases while
there is water in the samovar. The
water in the pot is never allowed To
boil, and only the best tea that the host
can afford is used. 1t costs all the way
from one to thirty dollars pound, and
merchants make a business of bring
ing it overland across the deserts
from China by extensive tea
caravans. 1t is generally believed
in Russia that sea-voyage destroys
the peculiar flavor of the chat. The
best guality-such as is used for the
imperial tablets transported in leather
bags enclosed in carefully sealed cases
to prevent contact with the atmosphere.
This kind of tea is worth from thirty
TO forty dollars pound. Various
grades of Russian tea are sold in Paris,
where also samovars of beautiful de-
signs can be purchased for twenty or
thirty dollars a piece. The ordinary
tea of Russia is far superior to any tea
drunk in country or in England; in fact
its delicious flavor is unknown, and can
not be initiated by the most skillful
preparation of English tea. Crystal
lied white sugar is used by the Russian
tea-drinkers. and a slice of lemon gives
the liquid an exquisite flavor, but cream
or milk Is never seen on a tea-table.
Wealthy people often use jellies. From
six to twenty glasses of chat are often
drunk by single person at sitting,
and at private parties the guests remain
until very late. In the tea-gardens
bands of musicians play regular pro-
grammes during the evenings, while
the fashionable ladies and gentlemen
of the city drink tea and discuss the
gossip of the hour.-Ralph Meeker, tn
Harper's Magazine.